Shepherd's Bush tube station

History

The station opened on 30 July 1900 and was the original western terminus of the Central London Railway (CLR).{{cite web |access-date=2008-01-10

To the north of the station was located the CLR's power station and Wood Lane depot which was originally accessed by a single track tunnel. The eastbound tunnel ended to the west of the station in a dead-end reversing siding with a cross-over junction connecting it to the westbound tunnel.{{cite web |access-date=2008-01-10

An extension to Richmond planned in 1920 would have started here with the next stop at the closed London and South Western Railway station at Hammersmith (Grove Road); the work was never carried out. As part of London Transport's New Works Programme, 1935 - 1940, escalators were installed to replace the original lifts and in 1938, the platforms were lengthened along with those of the other existing Central line stations to accommodate eight cars instead of the previous seven.

Some of the original 1900 features of the station were preserved in areas that are not open to the public. Since 2022, London Transport Museum has been running guided historical tours of the station through its "Hidden London" programme, which take visitors to the disused original station corridors and lift shafts to look at the history of the site.

Westfield redevelopment

A large-scale redevelopment began in 2005 to redevelop the White City area to the north of Shepherd's Bush Green and to construct the Westfield Shopping Centre. As part of this project, Shepherd's Bush Central line station was reconstructed in 2008 by Westfield as part of a Section 106 contribution. The Westfield redevelopment also included the construction of an integrated bus interchange and the new London Overground station on the West London line. The new Overground station opened on 28 September that year and is close to the site of the former station which closed in 1940.

During the reconstruction of the Central line station, Transport for London closed the station completely for eight months from 4 February 2008; TfL based their decision on the need to replace the escalators at the same time as rebuilding work. This decision caused local controversy, and critics claimed that the works had been timed to benefit incoming businesses involved in the planned redevelopment of the area, at the cost of local residents and small business holders. The local MP for the Shepherd's Bush constituency, Andy Slaughter, investigated the project and obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act which showed that the contractor, Metronet, had advised that the work could be completed without closing the station. Shepherd's Bush station re-opened to passengers on 5 October that year.

During the refurbishment, Transport for London did not add lifts to the station as originally planned, citing installation costs of £100 million due to the various underground utilities nearby which would have to be diverted. The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and disability pressure groups have been critical of the fact that the station remains inaccessible for those unable to use stairs.

Connections

• Shepherd's Bush station is an OSI for London Overground and National Rail
• London Buses routes 31, 49, 72, 94, 95, 148, 207, 220, 228, 237, 260, 272, 283, 295, 316, C1 and SL8 and night routes N72 and N207 serve the station.

Gallery

|Shepherds bush tube station 1.jpg|Before: the original 1900 building as seen in 2005 |Shepherd's Bush Central Line station almost rebuilt - geograph.org.uk - 934452.jpg|After: the replacement building nears completion in 2008 |Shepherd's Bush tube stn westbound look east.JPG|Westbound platform looking east |Shepherd's Bush tube stn roundel.JPG|Station roundel

References

References

1. "Station Codes". Transport for London.
2. "Shepherd's Bush added to London Transport Museum's Hidden London tours".
3. "Shepherd's Bush: Suburbs to the City".
4. (2 February 2008). "Tube station closure sparks anger". BBC News.
5. (16 July 2008). "LU internal documents retrieved by Andy Slaughter MP's Freedom of Information request". Andy Slaughter MP.
6. (16 July 2008). "Tube station closure 'not needed'". BBC News.
7. (6 October 2009). "Tube station lift could be ditched". London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.
8. (15 July 2023). "Buses from Shepherd's Bush".